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English Premier League 2025/26 Season Discussion

Premier League set to decide on PSR alternative

A decision on whether to scrap the Premier League's controversial profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and adopt an "alternative system" is "coming up", says chief executive Richard Masters.

The current regulations, introduced in 2015-16 to prevent clubs from overspending, allow losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle.

However, they have been criticised by several top-flight teams for limiting their ability to invest.

BBC Sport has been told a decision on any changes is likely to be made at a meeting in November.

In February clubs chose to continue with PSR for the current season.

However a squad cost ratio (SCR) system of financial control was adopted by the Premier League on a shadowing, non-binding basis.

SCR is similar to Uefa's existing financial rules and allows clubs to spend up to a percentage of their total revenues on squad-related costs.

Nine of the league's 20 clubs already have to comply with Uefa's SCR as a result of qualifying for Europe. Both Chelsea and Aston Villa were fined by Uefa in July for breaching the rules.

Asked about SCR at the Leaders sports conference in London, Masters said: "We are talking to our clubs about an alternative system. That's not to say we don't think the PSR system works."

He added: "It's about closer alignment with European regulation, which is squad cost ratio, which is a revenue test. In Uefa, it's now set at 70%. Our system will be 85% because we always want our clubs to have the ability to invest.

"The Premier League has been built on the back of investment in which international capital flows [are] coming in. We don't want that to be to be stifled off."

Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points in the 2023-24 season for breaching PSR.

In 2023, Aston Villa's co-owner Nassef Sawiris said the regulations "do not make sense" and protected the biggest clubs, while he was considering legal action against the rules.

Having been forced to offload players to comply with the regulations, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has also been critical of PSR, saying it incentivises clubs to sell academy products.

"The PSR is a look-back profitability test and has its own strengths and weaknesses. No system will be perfect," said Masters.

"We have to keep these things balanced and continue the conversation with our clubs, and that's an important decision, so we should take the time to get it right. But that decision is coming up."

The Premier League is also trialling another model known as 'top to bottom anchoring' (TBA) which effectively caps the amount any club can spend as a multiple of the income earned by the league's bottom side.

BBC Sport has been told the new rules - if adopted - could also include TBA, and would come into force at the start of next season.

Record spending during the summer transfer window reinforced some top-flight clubs' concerns about PSR, and whether changes are needed in order to protect competitive balance given the additional revenues being generated for those involved in the expanded Champions League and Club World Cup.


 
TODAY'S FIXTURE (03-10-2025)

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Spurs owners inject £100m into club​

Tottenham Hotspur's majority owners have injected £100m of new capital into the club.

Spurs say the investment will "further strengthen the club's financial position and equip the club's leadership team with additional resources to continue the focus on driving long-term sporting success".

Investment group Enic, which is run by the Lewis Family Trust, owns a majority 86.58% of Tottenham, while the remaining 13.42% is owned by a group of minority investors.

Former chairman Daniel Levy owns 29.88% of Enic, but does not have any direct involvement with the club after stepping down from his position in September.

The majority of Enic used to be owned by British businessman Joe Lewis but in 2022 he handed ownership to the Lewis Family Trust and is no longer involved with the club.

The Lewis family have been at the forefront of much hierarchical change at Tottenham over the past few months, and the club statement adds that "this additional capital is part of the Lewis family's ongoing commitment to the club and its future".

A source close to the family said: "This is initial additional funding. As the club's management decides what's needed to deliver success, more money will be available. The Lewis family is committed to backing the club to be successful."

Since Levy stepped down there have been three expressions of interest made about taking over Spurs.

The latest was made by American tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick, who ruled out making a formal takeover bid after Tottenham insisted the club was not for sale.

BBC
 

Spurs owners inject £100m into club​

Tottenham Hotspur's majority owners have injected £100m of new capital into the club.

Spurs say the investment will "further strengthen the club's financial position and equip the club's leadership team with additional resources to continue the focus on driving long-term sporting success".

Investment group Enic, which is run by the Lewis Family Trust, owns a majority 86.58% of Tottenham, while the remaining 13.42% is owned by a group of minority investors.

Former chairman Daniel Levy owns 29.88% of Enic, but does not have any direct involvement with the club after stepping down from his position in September.

The majority of Enic used to be owned by British businessman Joe Lewis but in 2022 he handed ownership to the Lewis Family Trust and is no longer involved with the club.

The Lewis family have been at the forefront of much hierarchical change at Tottenham over the past few months, and the club statement adds that "this additional capital is part of the Lewis family's ongoing commitment to the club and its future".

A source close to the family said: "This is initial additional funding. As the club's management decides what's needed to deliver success, more money will be available. The Lewis family is committed to backing the club to be successful."

Since Levy stepped down there have been three expressions of interest made about taking over Spurs.

The latest was made by American tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick, who ruled out making a formal takeover bid after Tottenham insisted the club was not for sale.

BBC
 
Ex-referee David Coote admits child image offence

Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child.

The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Crown Court over an allegation relating to a category A video, the most serious kind, recovered by police in February.

Coote, from Woodhill Road, Collingham, Nottinghamshire, was granted conditional bail ahead of an appearance on 11 December.

Judge Nirmal Shant KC ordered a pre-sentence report and said: "You have pleaded guilty to a serious matter. Whether this means custody or not will be decided when all the information is before the court."


 
Top European clubs discuss using six substitutes

Europe's top clubs, including some Premier League sides, have held discussions about using six substitutes per game to ease the workload on players.

Sides met at the European Football Clubs' (EFC) general assembly in Rome last week to discuss issues within the game.

It was not officially on the agenda or pushed by the EFC, but clubs had informal, private discussions about utilising 28-man squads - up from the current 25 - and six substitutes.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were among those from the Premier League in Italy.

Football's rulemakers, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), would need to recommend any changes first, and it is unclear when, if at all, any changes would be made.

Five substitutes were introduced in the Premier League in May 2020 before football resumed during the coronavirus pandemic.

The league reverted back to three for the 2020-21 season, before five was voted in permanently from the 2022-23 season. A sixth substitute is allowed to replace a player without a suspected head injury.

Three extra squad places are seen as being able to reduce the workload on players after threats of strikes.

Last season Tottenham defender Archie Gray was included in 80 matchday squads for club and country, including friendlies, the joint highest in Europe with Real Madrid's 20-year-old midfielder Arda Guler.

Gray, 19, made 48 appearances as Spurs won the Europa League and helped England Under-21s win Euro 2025 in the summer.

Sources close to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) have doubts if 28-man squads would help players, given it would not stop them from travelling in a matchday squad or ease mental fatigue regardless of whether they play.

In June Uefa, the EFC, FifPro Europe and European Leagues launched a study to better assess different types of injuries, performance levels and player welfare.

Last month FifPro, the world players' union, released its fifth annual report on the issue, looking at how much players played and travelled in 2024-25.

It wrote: "Even if the player does not end up playing any minutes, they still have to be physically present and fully participate in team preparations, mentally prepare, while often spending time away from home and undertaking international travel.

"As such, these occasions are also part of the player's working time commitments."

The EFC represents more than 800 men's and women's clubs from 55 countries, with Paris St-Germain, Inter Milan and Barcelona among those who attended last week.

BBC
 
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